Poetry by Rob Schlegel

 

抄寫及攝影：何仲文 善會計三

is pointless, my son says. If you write that down 

I’ll kill you. I fear he fears 

the attention I give it. I used to drive 

till he fell asleep. Ten minutes, then silence 

the river knit with ice. In tonight’s movie 

a boat swerves against bullets. 

He sings the movie’s theme. I kill you, 

you kill me. Plot against all 

that is good. Good for whom? 

I know every word that rhymes 

with my assailant’s first name. It’s difficult 

to achieve real-world fear 

in a movie. My son crawls into bed. 

There’s nothing I need more than you, I say. 

Not true, he says. The rudder turns 

in my throat. Every sleep he needs me less. 

 ——Poetry (July/ August 2021)